The growth of audiobooks and the impact of AI

For about 2 years now, the audiobook market has been growing rapidly and is increasingly sought after by readers. Grasping this trend, publishers have increased the production of audiobooks, in which artificial intelligence (AI) applications are used to create many products.

Audible's audiobook library is popular with many readers.

The NielsenIQ Bookdata 2024 report said that more than half of Australian audiobook listeners have increased their spending in the past five years. The American Publishers Association reported that audiobook sales in the country increased by 13% between 2023 and 2024. In the UK, audiobook growth also reached 31%. Realizing the potential for the audiobook market to continue to grow in the coming time, manufacturers decided to invest in many products. To shorten the time, save costs, and bring works to readers faster, manufacturers and technology companies are applying AI to audiobook production.

In May 2025, Amazon applied Audible (a platform that allows converting e-books into audiobooks using virtual voice technology) with more than 100 AI voice models in a variety of languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. Audible's functions also allow users to self-publish audiobooks. There are currently tens of thousands of audiobooks available on Audible. Meanwhile, Apple and Spotify have launched audiobook stores using AI voices. Audible Studios is still constantly recruiting voice actors to meet the diverse needs of readers, expanding to many languages.

Using AI in audiobook production brings many benefits. Publishers can save on voice actors, speed up production, and easily translate books into multiple languages ​​thanks to translation technology. For independent authors, using AI brings more benefits. They do not need to spend a lot of money in the production process, do not need to find publishers and distribution units to support. They can produce their own works and deliver them to readers based on the support of AI.

However, mass production of AI-based audiobooks raises concerns about quality. Annabelle Tudor, who has lent her voice to more than 40 audiobooks, believes that the instinct for storytelling is what makes the art of reading primitive and precious, something that AI cannot do. AI-produced audiobooks are abundant in quantity but will lack uniqueness, especially in terms of emotional experience. Dorje Swallow, who has recorded more than 70 audiobooks, agrees that emotions and storytelling skills are essential to attract readers to audiobooks.

Simon Kennedy, President of the Voice Actors Association in Australia, shared that actors often have to spend many hours recording for audiobooks. They spend time reading in advance to understand the characters, spirit and rhythm of the book. The recording process is not simple, on average, for 1 hour of audiobook, it takes them 2 or 3 times longer to complete the recording, even more hours. Each sentence and word recorded by the actors has emotion, which makes the difference compared to audiobooks from AI with "Google voice". Audiobooks therefore have the unique character of each actor's voice and create attraction for readers. However, Simon Kennedy also expressed concern because voice cloning technology is being tested. In the context of no clear regulations on voice ownership, actors may inadvertently lose resources if AI uses their voices.

BAO LAM (Synthesized from The Guardian, Publishers Weekly)

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/su-tang-truong-sach-noi-va-tac-dong-tu-ai-a190267.html